Roger Ebert has long been paid for his opinion on movies. All things considered, if you have a broad film education, you know that Ebert knows his stuff. When it gets into your own cinematic guilty pleasures, you’re on your own…but in regards to craftsmanship, he knows his stuff.
What he clearly doesn’t know is tact, and understanding in the event of an unlikely demise.
If you’re unaware, after Ryan Dunn’s death yesterday, Ebert tweeted “Friends don’t let Jackasses drink and drive.” I understood where he was trying to go with his statement, but it was in poor taste. That’s something you tweet when one of the Jackass crew is arrested for DUI, not when they’re killed in a car accident which also took the life of another: Zachary Hartwell.
Bam Margera, Dunn’s best friend and fellow Jackass family member, was livid at hearing of the tweet, and responded in kind, telling Roger Ebert to shut his “fat f***ing mouth.” Ebert didn’t. Instead he offered an apology today, with an explanation of his tweet–stating that it wasn’t meant to be cruel, simply true.
I get it. I do. Estimates of Dunn’s speed at the time of the crash were in excess of 100 mph. He was a notorious speeder. Bam’s mother, April Margera, reportedly warned Dunn repeatedly about his bad habit. And the fact remains that Dunn had a few beers and shots before deciding he would transport himself and a friend home. Unfortunately, he killed himself and that friend.
While sympathy goes out to Margera, and Dunn’s family and other friends, Roger Ebert was right on the money–friends shouldn’t let friends drink and drive. It’s just sad that he felt that a slice of sarcastic wit was necessary in expressing that opinion.
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